Option ARM loans aren’t all bad

Get Inman via Facebook MessengerOur top headlines delivered once a day. by CareyBot

The memory of a no-nonsense conversation, held more than a decade ago, hit home then and is vivid today.
"This probably would not be the loan for a person who planned on making just the minimum payment every month," said the Washington Mutual senior loan consultant. "It's a great program for borrowers who really might use the flexible payments, but if you stay with the minimum, you are absolutely going to owe more than you borrow."
I thought about that meeting the other day when I read that WaMu had discontinued its option-ARM (adjustable-rate mortgage) loan program along with its Mortgage Plus loans -- and laid off 1,100 more employees. Earlier this year, the bank had closed its home loan centers, sending potential residential mortgage applicants to its reta...